26 



HOME AND FLOWERS 



rid of. Prepare some strong soapsuds and vrash 

 the entire plant with it. Take it leaf by leaf, 

 rubbing forcibly. The leaves most badly in- 

 fested can be cut off and burned. As soon as 

 the weather will admit of it put the plant out- 

 of-doors. 



Farfugium Maculatum. — This variety of far- 

 fugium has leaves striped and splashed with 

 cream or white on a gray-green ground. F, 

 grande has spotted leaves. F. maculatum is not 

 grown as extensively as the other variety, but it 

 is really the most attractive, and is of easier 

 cultivation. 



Lice on Honeysuckle.— (Jsh:^. E. W. E.) See 

 answer to W. B. Begin the use of the insecti- 

 cide tefore the insects appear, and keep on 

 using it until there seems no danger to be appre- 

 hended from them. Much of the success of 



fighting insects lies in getting the start of them. 



Cow Manure as a Garden Fertilizer.— {'SSf . F. 

 S.) There can be no objection urged against 

 well-rotted cow manure for use in the gardeu 

 vrhen it is considered simply as a fertilizer. 

 The objection to its use is in the certainty of 

 its introducing the seeds of weeds. 



Plants for Tk&5.— (New York City Reader.) 

 Cannas would do vrell in tubs. So would ealadi- 

 ums, if you were careful to keep them well 

 watered. If cannas are used, put three or four 

 roots in each tub eighteen or twenty inches 

 across. 



Azalea.— (^Lrs. C. E. G.) I would not advise 

 repotting the azalea every year, I would depend 

 on the use of a fertilizer rather than a fresh soil. 

 If you prefer to repot use peat if you can get 

 it, and rather coarse sand. 



FLOE A L PERPLEXITIES FROM THE SOUTH 



Answered by Mrs. G. T. Drennan 



[All cjuestions regarding florieidture, from the Ohio and Potomac Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico — 

 which are the limits of Southern gardens — will receive careful attention and prompt responses.] 



Mrs. Jno. B. H., Harmony Grove, Ga. — The 

 camellia japonica requires a temperature of 

 from fifty to seventy degrees in winter. Above 

 thirty-five degrees of latitude it is a hothouse 

 plant, but belongs to the class known as hardy 

 hothouse shrubs. South of thirty-five degrees 

 camellias on their own roots are hardy. Grafted 

 stock is more tender and less longlived than the 

 standards. The single red-flowered is the hard- 

 iest of all camellias. There is a hedge of this 

 variety in Greensborough, Alabama, that for 

 twenty years has bloomed profusely, and never 

 required protection. Greensborough is in lati- 

 tude of about thirty-three degrees. 



Charlie, Mobile, Ala'bama. — Tiili-ps are not' 

 well suited to Southern gardens. That is why 

 yours disappointed you. Try hyacinths next 

 year. 



Mr. C. M. H., Crystal Springs, Mississippi.— 

 The seeds of sweet vernal grass can be bought 

 of all dealers in mixtures of lawn grass seeds. 

 It is planted separately and in mixtures. Try it. 



P. J. J., Nashville, Tennessee. — Mrs. Robert 

 Peary would undoubtedly be hardy in Nashville. 

 Give it an eastern or southern position. The 

 roses are pure white, large and double. You 

 could not possibly make a finer selection. 



Miss Susie 5.— Verbenas are hardy in South- 

 ern gardens. They are frequently covered over 

 with leaves or mulch of some kind in midTsinter, 

 which is rather to make them bloom early than 

 to preserve life. (Give your address next time.) 



Mr. E. S., Columhus, Mississippi. — Abutilons 

 are not perfectly hardy in New Orleans, They 

 are extensively grown in the outdoor garden, but 

 are cut back almost to the ground every winter. 

 Abutilons bloom out-of-doors from April to 

 November in New Orleans. 



Mr. Jno. 0. E., Eichmond, Virginia.— Sweet 

 olive blooms in January and February out-of- 

 doors in Louisiana. Magnolia fuscata blooms 

 in February and March. Orange trees bloom in 

 February. It is an exceptional winter when 

 oranges bloom in January. Bananas grow out, 

 but are not fruitful in New Orleans. They are 

 cultivated for their foliage. Sometimes they bear 

 fruit, but very rarely, except under glass. 



Mrs. Ellen P., HuntsviUe, Alabama. — Chrjs- 

 anthemums begin to bloom in June, and con- 

 tinue till Christmas. The names of the extra 

 early sorts can be ascertained and given you, 

 but the probabilities are that it is the climate 

 of New Orleans that causes them to spurt in 

 blooming so early. 



